The Best Educational Book of All Time

I believe in the integrity and the fairness of the judgment of Mashable.com Open Web Awards who adjudged my blog site as the “Most Educational to Follow” in the 3rd Annual Open Web Awards.

Frankly, I am not fit to be called an educator because I am a high school dropout — just like what the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:9.

I CORINTHIANS 15:9

For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

I, even at times, am hesitant to use some English words in writing my blog because of my limited knowledge in the English Grammar; but what inspires me most in composing my blog is my intense desire to share the truth that I have learned from the “most” educational book to follow — my Bible.

There are a lot of inspiring books, interesting, with breathtaking stories, and educational as well, but in my sixty years of travel in almost all avenues of life from the shanties of the poorest of the poor to the mansions and the palace of the most powerful men and women of my country of origin, I am convinced that the teachings of the Bible have educated me more than any other books I have previously read.

I have talked — and dined — with presidents, senators and other men of authority. I have mingled with the poorest people of the human society. I have listened to mentors — spiritual and otherwise. I have listened to a psychopath and have given considerable time listening to children, and I have discovered a wonderful knowledge: that by understanding the Wisdom of God in the Bible, you can discern if a president, a king, or a senator is speaking ignorantly; or if a mentor is misleading his subjects to the rightful path of knowledge.

I CORINTHIANS 1:19

For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

Buddha is a respected figure and is even considered a deity of Buddhism. He once said, “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” This saying of Buddha was believed and made famous, not only by Buddhist people, but by millions of non-Buddhist people in the world; but based on the teachings of the bible, Buddha has lapses in his sayings — If a person is to live the present moment “wisely and earnestly”, you cannot help but anticipate troubles and problems simply because the present is connected to the future, after all, being earnest is to be intensely or excessively serious and grave in manner or attitude.

A caring father worries about the future of his children — much like the apostle Paul to the brethren in the church entrusted to his care by God.

II CORINTHIANS 11:28, 4 (RSV)

28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches.

4 For if some one comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you submit to it readily enough.

It is the sense of obligation and responsibility that drive a loving father to worry for the future and anticipate troubles that are to come for the good of his children.

II CORINTHIANS 12:14

Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

A wise and thinking mind cannot accept the saying of Buddha — because it is only fit for a child or a babe. A babe or a child doesn’t worry about the future!

HEBREWS 5:13

For every one that useth milk is unskillfull in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

Most importantly, Buddha himself did not live wisely in the present because he died by accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms. Maybe he learned something by death – that it is better to worry and anticipate rather than to be reckless.

PROVERBS 6:6-8

6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

A wise ant anticipates the problem of hunger especially for their breeding queen so they gather food unceasingly and harvest them in their colony. Obviously, ants are wiser than Buddha. They know how to discern the poisonous from the edible food. This kind of education that I have learned from the Bible is far more superior to what people can learn from Buddha!

Quick fact: Ant colonies also have soldier ants that protect the queen, defend the colony, gather or kill food, and attack enemy colonies in search for food and nesting space. If they defeat another ant colony, they take away eggs of the defeated ant colony. When the eggs hatch, the new ants become the “slave” ants for the colony. Some jobs of the colony include taking care of the eggs and babies, gathering food for the colony and building the anthills or mounds.

(http://www.pestworldforkids.org/ants.html)

Confucius once said,” Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it”.

At first glance, a verse in the Bible flashed like lightning in the horizon of my mind. John 8:44 says,

JOHN 8:44

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

The Lord Jesus Christ said that Satan is a liar — the father of lies — and there is no truth in him — where there is no truth, there is no beauty. I cannot see beauty in murders. The father of lies is a murderer — so are his children. There is no beauty in bombings and killings of innocent lives in any angle you look at it. The mangled body of an innocent civilian in Iraq and Afghanistan is awfully ugly. Sometimes the natural beauty is being concealed by a lie — by the “make-ups” of the discontented society matron. Perhaps, Confucius was confused when he said it. I would rather suggest to the followers of Confucius to believe that there is beauty in everything that God has created in the original state of creation.

GENESIS 1:31

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

By this, I reiterate and emphasize that the Bible is the most educational book to follow.

We want to express our deepest gratitude to the organizers of mashable.com, most especially to CEO Pete Cashmore, and to all the people who voted for this humble blog — may all of you be continuing instruments of truth in the seemingly infinite worldwide web to the most number of people possible.

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Conscience and the Bible

The Bible does not only speak of scientific things, historical, social and moral but also psychological things in life.

THE ROMANS 14:21

It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

Although it is not prohibited in the Bible to eat animal meat, the preceding verse was cited by the Apostle Paul as a warning to Christians not to offend fellow Christians. It is a kind of admonition which can be considered psychologically sound and healthfully good.

When it said, “it is good not to eat flesh and to drink wine”, [if it is an offense to anybody]; it does not only speak of social things but of scientific aspects as well. Eating meat or flesh of animals and drinking wine is common to drunkards. The word “flesh” used in the verse is kreas, which means animal meat.

Dictionaries of Hebrew and Greek Words taken from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., 1890.)

Scientifically, human beings are not designed to be meat eaters or carnivores. If we study our physical being, our body’s design is very much different from natural meat eaters. Carnivores or meat eaters have fangs designed to kill, sharp claws designed to tear flesh, short intestines (about 3 times the length of its body) for the quick disposal of the waste product of meat containing putrifacted materials. They have highly acidic saliva and digestive enzymes needed for the digestion of flesh, bones, feathers and a remarkable enzyme uricase that digests and expels uric acid, a highly toxic by-product of meat. They have large liver that helps in the detoxification of the chemical by-products of meat. Whereas human beings which are naturally born frugivores have fangs, but not sharp, meaning they are not intended to kill. Our fingers were not equipped with sharp claws needed to tear flesh. Our intestine is 12 times the length of our body that allows the longer stay of fruits and vegetables without harmless by products (needed for proper and complete assimilation of nutrients in them). Our liver is not as large as those of natural meat eaters because fruits and vegetables and nuts do not have plenty of toxic by-products for the liver to neutralize. Our saliva is alkaline and with little ptyalin needed to digest the small amount of starch in fruits and vegetables.

Considering all these factors we know that we are not natural meat eaters and therefore it is scientifically sound to say it is good (for humans) neither to eat animal flesh nor drink wine.

Wine, (those that are intoxicating) is equally not fit for human consumption. Scientific studies show that alcohol and other fermented materials in wine cause a lot of unhealthy effects in the human body.

Heavy alcohol use destroys the liver, the body’s primary filtering system, which means that germs of all kinds won’t leave your body as fast. The result is, heavier drinkers are more prone to initial infections as well as secondary complications. Alcohol also dehydrates the body — it actually takes more fluids from your system than it puts in.
(http://my.webmd.com/content/pages/5/4068_103.htm)

Nausea and sicknessToo much alcohol can irritate the stomach, leading to sickness and nausea, and can lead to temporary impotence in men.

Alcohol has a dehydrating effect, and the traditional hangover arrives partly as a result.

However, it is the longer term effects which worry doctors.

Too much alcohol over a prolonged period can affect nearly every organ in your body.

Alcohol is essentially a poison, and the cumulative effects can be horrific.

Long term drinkers can suffer liver damage, as the liver is the organ that processes the alcohol and removes it from the body.

Liver damageThere are three types of damage – fatty liver, in which fat is deposited in the liver, impairing its function, alcohol hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver which can cause severe symptoms and lead in some cases to alcoholic cirrhosis, which can eventually cause liver failure if the drinker does not stop.

The first two stages are usually reversible, whereas cirrhosis has no cure.

Heavy drinkers can suffer from chronic gastritis – essentially a daily recurrence of hangover style nausea and sickness. They can also suffer damage to the esophagus.

Pancreatitis is a common problem in heavy drinkers – this is an extremely painful condition which is hard to treat, and sometimes fatal.

Brain damage is also possible in some cases – alcoholic dementia is often found in very long-term drinkers.

Heart disease and strokeHowever, it is damage to the heart and circulatory system that place many drinkers at risk.Drinking over the recommended limits is one of the most common causes of high blood pressure, which can contribute to heart disease.

Drinking heavily is also likely to greatly increase the calorific intake, perhaps leading to obesity, which also increases these health risks.
Regularly drinking more than three units of alcohol a day increases the risk of a type of stroke called hemorrhagic stroke.It can also contribute to osteoporosis, lead to muscle weakness, make skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema worse.In men, there is likely to be a loss of libido and potency, shrinking of the testicles and penis, reduced fertility, loss of pubic hair and if cirrhosis is present, increased breast size and loss of body hair.In women, ovulation may cease, and breasts and sexual organs shrivel.
Many cancers are alcohol-related, particularly those of the mouth, esophagus, liver, stomach, colon, rectum, and perhaps breast cancer in women.

Harming unborn childrenHeavy drinking, even in one-off binges, by pregnant women can harm their unborn child.It can lead to miscarriage, low birth weight, and, in the worst cases, to fetal alcohol syndrome, a group of defects which can include lowered IQ, facial malformations and growth deficiencies.Many studies have found suggestions that moderate alcohol drinking, for example one or two units a day, can have a protective effect against in particular heart disease.
This has yet to be conclusively proven, as it is not clear whether it is the alcohol, or some other ingredient in the drink, which is having the effect.(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/medical_notes/a-b/872428.stm)

By all these scientific wisdom we may conclude that the Bible is a no nonsense book. But what I admire most in the Bible being the words of the Creator is it can penetrate the depth of one’s being.

HEBREWS 4:12-1312 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

The words of God are so powerful that it can divide asunder the soul and the spirit meaning that it can penetrate the innermost part of our being. In fact, it speaks of the conscience and by this we know that it speaks the truth. My dear readers, I know that you have your conscience.

THE ROMANS 2:15Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

You can feel how truthful this pronouncement of the Scriptures. Our conscience bears witness of the existence of God. The Bible exactly tells us what is happening inside our being or in our conscience. It may accuse or excuse our own self and other people. Do you feel the same?

I hope that you will be honest enough in your reply; after all, it is not my business knowing your conscience, but yours. In our conscience also, the Bible tells us that there are “things of the law” written by God. Even if we have not heard the audible voice of our Creator, we know that our conscience can tell us of what is right and what is wrong. Verily, these are the things contained in God’s law: what is right — the dos, and what is wrong — the don’ts.

THE ROMANS 2:14For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

Considering all these facts, do you now agree with me that the Bible does not only speak of scientific but also psychological matters?

God knows our being, He knows our promptings. Solomon, with his God-given wisdom, once judged two quarrelling women: each claiming that the baby boy is her son. He rendered judgment and said, “Divide the boy into two.” And the real mother gave up her son for it not to be divided.

I KINGS 3:16-2716 Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him. 17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. 18 And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. 19 And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. 22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king. 23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. 24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. 25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. 26 Then spoke the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. 27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.

Do you now believe that the Bible speaks of psychological matters? What am I trying to prove by narrating all these things? I want you to realize that the Bible is a no-nonsense book. It comes from Somebody who knows even our conscience which cannot be known by the dearest and the most intimate of our relatives. It is known only to God.

JEREMIAH 17:9-109 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

You might say, “So what if there is a God?”. I am trying to convince you to believe that we came into existence because of a loving God who is always waiting for us to acknowledge Him. There are fools, who do not believe in God.

PSALMS 53:1The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

No amount of intelligence and knowledge that an atheist may posses can make him a good and better person, than to acknowledge the existence of God who created him and his neighbors. The best men in the whole history of humanity (men with human considerations, pity, justice, loving-kindness, moral aptitude and great leaders) all believe in God. I know that there was once a tyrant and demonic leader who caused the death and unspeakable sufferings of about 9 million people, and that person does not believe in God. Have you heard of Hitler? My advice is that for you to investigate.

My goal in preaching and teaching the Gospel to other people is to convince them to believe in God: the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth, because I know in my conscience, had it not been for my acknowledgment of the existence of a great God, perhaps I would just be like those fine looking people who hide a monster in their conscience. Belief in God will make you a better person, more caring and more considerate to others — and that is the element of a more peaceful society of humans. Unbelief will not make you good, but 100% evil.

THE ROMANS 3:10-1810 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

God Bless.

Brother Eli Soriano

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How to Maintain Friendship According to the Bible

In this world, the only thing permanent is change (thus, the saying goes).
Maintaining friendship with anybody entails a lot of guts, patience, and understanding. It is almost impossible to have a permanent friend in human society today. But what is impossible under human standards is possible with God.

When I was in elementary school, I have learned a proverb that says: “Make new friends, but don’t forget the old; for new ones are silver, and the old ones are gold.” Biblically speaking, friends can be part of the inheritance from fathers.

Proverbs 27:10

Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.

But how can we preserve friendship? We must know whom to befriend and the factors that will destroy the friendship! The God of the Bible defines for us a true friend.

Proverbs 18:24 (RSV)

There are friends who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

The closeness of a true friend is enduring.

Proverbs 17:17

A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

A true friend’s criticism may hurt, but it is a sign of a true friend.

Proverbs 27:6

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

I have been following these examples set by the Bible regarding friendship. But those who do not understand—when I speak with frankness and truthfulness, with the intention to correct a beloved friend—sometimes, they turn to be bitter enemies. If only people can see the heart, I should have made more friends than enemies. It happened to the Apostles of Christ.

Galatians 4:16-17 (NIV)

16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them.

There is a Spanish proverb that says, “El enemigo peor es él que era una vez un amigo” (The worst enemy is he who was once a friend). Beware! Do not make enemies out of friends, but make friends out of enemies.

1 Corinthians 9:20-22

20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

21To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

22To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

If you want to maintain friendship, apply to yourself the virtues and values of a true friend. Do not expect it from your friend alone, it must be symbiotic. Jesus taught His disciples the greatest friendship attainable among human beings.

John 15:13-15

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

The disciples of Christ applied this friendship among brethren.

3 John 1:14

But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.

Enduring friendship is attainable in the Church of God. Jesus and His disciples are the best of friends anybody can have.

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Why the Best Education is Available in the Bible

Education is defined in the dictionary as an activity of acquiring knowledge through instruction or teaching. The Bible in 2 Timothy 3:15-16 says,

“15And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All Scriptures is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

The Bible has in its pages doctrines, corrections, instructions in righteousness, and the best knowledge needed in educating any man. It will not come short of any good thing needed to make a man perfect before the sight of God.

The infallible teacher is the Holy Spirit of God who knows the whole truth as was written in John 14:26, which states,

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

The Bible can teach knowledge and wisdom ahead of their discovery by man. We know in the Book of Isaiah, written 600 years before Christ and almost two millennia before the theories of Copernicus and other scientists came out, that the Earth is round and spherical in shape.

Even without a telescope, the stars can be seen by the naked eye, and it is very hard to number them. In Genesis 22:17, God told Abraham that his descendants will be as many as the stars he can see in heaven. With a telescope, we can see more than Abraham has seen less than 3,000 years ago.
The Earth now is populated by around 7 billion people, thus, proving that the word of God teaches us the truth about astronomy and mathematics. Abraham couldn’t see as many as a billion stars with his naked eyes; but several billions can be seen with our telescopes now, thus, proving the authenticity of God’s pronouncement in the Bible.

God’s wisdom is compared in the Bible as high as the heaven, and man’s is as low as the earth’s. In Isaiah 55:8-9, it says:

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Until now, even with the advent of sophisticated tools of Science, man cannot know exactly how high the heavens are from the earth. Guesses were made by the Greek thinker Thales and his pupil, Anaximander, regarded as the father of astronomy. Pythagoras, Ptolemy, Copernicus and many others also had theories about the universe and its extent, but they all, in so many points, have failed—proving, once more, what the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 8:17, thus,

“Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.”

I must emphasize that what Solomon said are things under the sun. He said, “…all the work of God…under the sun.” There are a few, very few, that man had accidentally discovered but not all, proving that up to now the said pronouncement of the Bible stands. And, if the work under the sun cannot be fully understood by man, much more those things beyond the sun.

Does anybody want to be knowledgeable of God’s unfailing wisdom? The Bible can educate us with knowledge far more advanced than the knowledge accumulated throughout the centuries by all of humanity combined. 1 Corinthians 1:25 states:

“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

The wisdom we can learn from the Bible and the knowledge we can acquire from it are far better than the guesses, temporary and partial knowledge of man. Why temporary and partial? The belief of scientists five decades ago has changed very recently. Sometime in the past, scientists believed that protein is food for the brain, but now, they say that sugar is the food for the brain. In Genesis 2:16 it says:

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat.”

Adam was an intelligent man. He named all the animals and birds that existed in his time. We are sure that they were more in number than the animals at present because a great number of them are now extinct. Genesis 2:19-20 says:

“19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”

Adam’s intelligence did not come from a brain that was fed with protein. Fruits that he ate in the garden contained more fructose (a good kind of sugar) and only a very little amount of protein. High protein diets burden the kidneys, but diets of fruits never do. Ask your dieticians and doctors and they will agree with me. This only proves to show that the kind of knowledge we can acquire in believing in the word of God is far better than the guesses of all men combined.

The best education regarding all areas of knowledge and wisdom is available in the Bible. Psychology, science, architecture, nutrition, morals, and everything that will make a man ‘man enough’ to acknowledge his CREATOR are in the pages of the Holy Scriptures. Isaiah 34:16 has this to say:

“Seek ye out the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.”

Bald billionaires may testify to this truth. Not even their billions can bring back their beautiful hair. God even counts hair to assure protection!

THE ACTS 27:33-34

33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.

34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.

Even the innumerable stars are numbered and named by God Almighty!

PSALMS 147:4

He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.

You might ask me why the Bible did not record the number of stars. There was no numerical figure during those times when the Bible was being written (and even now that we have the Hubble Space Telescope) to sufficiently and exactly give us the number of stars in the universe.

Stars are innumerable by human standards. The term googol was very recently applied by modern mathematicians. This is another proof that the Bible is an authentic, scientific book!

PARIS (AFP) – Astronomers may have underestimated the tally of galaxies in some parts of the Universe by as much as 90 percent, according to a study reported on Wednesday in Nature, the weekly British science journal.

Surveys of the cosmos are based on a signature of ultraviolet light that turns out to be a poor indicator of what’s out there, its authors say.

In the case of very distant, old galaxies, the telltale light may not reach Earth as it is blocked by interstellar clouds of dust and gas — and, as a result, these galaxies are missed by the map-makers.

“Astronomers always knew they were missing some fraction of the galaxies… but for the first time we now have a measurement. The number of missed galaxies is substantial,” said Matthew Hayes of the University of Geneva’s observatory, who led the investigation.

Hayes’ team used the world’s most advanced optical instrument — Europe’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, which has four 8.2-metre (26.65-feet) behemoths — to carry out the experiment.

A googol is 10 to the 100th power (which is 1 followed by 100 zeros). A googol is larger than the number of elementary particles in the universe, which amount to only 10 to the 80th power.

The term was invented by Milton Sirotta, the 9-year nephew of mathematician Edward Kasner, who had asked his nephew what he thought such a large number should be called. Such a number, Milton apparently replied after a short thought, could only be called something as silly as a “googol.”

Later, another mathematician devised the term googolplex for 10 to the power of googol – that is, 1 followed by 10 to the power of 100 zeros. Frank Pilhofer has determined that, given Moore’s Law (which is that computer processor power doubles about every 1 to 2 years), it would make no sense to try to print out a googolplex for another 524 years – since all earlier attempts to print a googolplex out would be overtaken by the faster processor.

“Ten” denotes the exactness of the commandments that were written on two tablets of stones.

DEUTERONOMY 4:13

And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

Why is it necessary to put the number ten? Because some unscrupulous writers may add to the commandments, which is against God’s will!

DEUTERONOMY 12:32

What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Even a jot or a tittle must not be taken away from the complete commandments.

MATTHEW 5:18

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Adding anything is also against God’s exact will.

PROVERBS 30:6

Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

REVELATION 22:18-19

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

To know how to count is a very important piece of wisdom in the Bible.

REVELATION 13:18

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

It is sad to note that this important truth was not learned by the leaders of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church! They insist that the Ten Commandments are in effect and should be followed even in our present dispensation. Here is what they have to say in their book:

While they insist that there are Ten Commandments, they baptize their members! Baptism is a commandment of Christ.
It was not written nor included in the two tablets of stone. There were only ten commandments written on the stone which God gave to Moses.

EXODUS 31:18

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Simple knowledge in arithmetic can disprove the claim of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church that the commandments that apply to all humanity at all times are the Ten Commandments.

Granting that the Ten Commandments are now in force, plus baptism, there will be not ten but eleven commandments!

The truth and the fact is: the giving and the collection of tithes is another commandment.

HEBREWS 7:5

And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:

You will not be speaking the exact truth if you say that there are ten commandments, and at the same time you are baptizing and collecting tithes!

It will not be very easy for the leaders of the SDA to do away with the tithes, because it is through the collection of tithes that they enrich themselves.

There was a change of priesthood. The Levitical priesthood ended in Christ, so did the law on tithing!

HEBREWS 7:5, 12

5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:

12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

The law on giving in the Christian era is not tithing!

II CORINTHIANS 9:7

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Why are these people (SDA) misled? It is because of the erroneous teachings that came from an unauthorized teacher.

I TIMOTHY 2:11-13

11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.

12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

Women leaders are prophesied to mislead people!

ISAIAH 3:12

As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.

Ellen G. White was a self-proclaimed teacher who founded a false church which is now called the Seventh-Day Adventist Church!

THE COMMANDMENTS FOR CHRISTIANS

The Ten Commandments ended in Christ.

ROMANS 10:4

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Its efficacy was until John.

LUKE 16:16 (New Revised Standard Version)

The law and the prophets were in effect until John came; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone tries to enter it by force.

Jesus preached the Good News or the Gospel, not the Ten Commandments!

MARK 1:14-15

14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Christ repealed the Ten Commandments!

MATTHEW 5:21-22

21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

22 but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Hating a brother in Christ is a serious offense in the commandments of Christ!

I JOHN 3:15

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

MATTHEW 5:27-28

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

The law of Christ is the law for Christians.

GALATIANS 6:2

Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Paul counted himself as under the law of Christ and not under the Ten Commandments.

I CORINTHIANS 9:20-21 (Revised Standard Version)

20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews; to those under the law I became as one under the law — though not being myself under the law — that I might win those under the law.

21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law — not being without law toward God but under the law of Christ — that I might win those outside the law.

A little understanding of mathematics and logic will enlighten the members of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church who were misled by Ellen G. White!